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Col. William J. Palmer, commanding one of Gen.
George Stoneman’s brigades (about 1,300 cavalry-men
of the 15th Pennsylvania, 12th Ohio, and
10th Michigan Regiments), made his headquar-ters
here at Sherrill’s Inn on April 27, 1865. The
Sherrill family fed the officers, and one of the
daughters is said to have shaken her stocking
over the eggs as they cooked and declared, “Those
Yankees can eat the dust off
my feet and think it’s pepper.”
Palmer was brevetted
(temporarily promoted) to
brigadier general, probably
while at Sherrill’s Inn. The
promotion gave him the com-mand
of two brigades already
in Asheville that had participat-
GEN. WILLIAM J. PALMER
★ ★ ★
Quaker Warrior
S T O N E M A N ’ S R A I D
On March 24, 1865, Union Gen. George Stoneman led 6,000 cavalrymen from Tennessee into southwestern Virginia
and western North Carolina to disrupt the Confederate supply line by destroying sections of the Virginia and
Tennessee Railroad, the North Carolina Railroad, and the Piedmont Railroad. He struck at Boone on March 28, headed
into Virginia on April 2, and returned to North Carolina a week later. Stoneman’s Raid ended at Asheville on April 26,
the day that Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Union Gen. William T. Sherman near Durham.
240
26
40
25
74
You Are Here
Asheville
ed in pillaging there on April 26. A “Quaker war-rior,”
Palmer had joined the army as a way to
express his abolitionist views. He was later award-ed
the Medal of Honor for his role in defeating a
larger Confederate force at Red Hill, Alabama, on
January 14, 1865, “without losing a man.”
According to tradition, an “underground
railroad” operated here and ran through Hickory
Nut Gap. Local residents helped Union sympa-thizers,
slaves, and Federal soldiers escaping from
prisons in Columbia, South Carolina, and Salis-bury,
North Carolina, to travel to Union-controlled
Tennessee.
Gen. William J. Palmer
Courtesy Colorado Springs
Pioneers Museum
Our March today was through the grandest scenery we have looked on during our term of
service. We went up through the Hickory Nut Gap in the mountains, along the Broad River,
up to its source. Towering above us, almost to the clouds, were the precipitous crags of the
Hickory Mountains, and at High Falls the water drops 300 feet from the summit. It was so
imposing that the usual chat of the riders was hushed, as they gazed with awe on the
sight. As we rode along we plucked the fragrant Magnolia from the forest trees, and the
wish of all was to stay longer with it, but that could not be done, and we went on up to the
top, where plenty of forage was found. — Capt. Harry Weand, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry
Mural by Elizabeth Cramer McClure shows Stoneman’s raiders in Hickory
Nut Gap. Photography by Ken Abbot

Col. William J. Palmer, commanding one of Gen.
George Stoneman’s brigades (about 1,300 cavalry-men
of the 15th Pennsylvania, 12th Ohio, and
10th Michigan Regiments), made his headquar-ters
here at Sherrill’s Inn on April 27, 1865. The
Sherrill family fed t

Col. William J. Palmer, commanding one of Gen.
George Stoneman’s brigades (about 1,300 cavalry-men
of the 15th Pennsylvania, 12th Ohio, and
10th Michigan Regiments), made his headquar-ters
here at Sherrill’s Inn on April 27, 1865. The
Sherrill family fed the officers, and one of the
daughters is said to have shaken her stocking
over the eggs as they cooked and declared, “Those
Yankees can eat the dust off
my feet and think it’s pepper.”
Palmer was brevetted
(temporarily promoted) to
brigadier general, probably
while at Sherrill’s Inn. The
promotion gave him the com-mand
of two brigades already
in Asheville that had participat-
GEN. WILLIAM J. PALMER
★ ★ ★
Quaker Warrior
S T O N E M A N ’ S R A I D
On March 24, 1865, Union Gen. George Stoneman led 6,000 cavalrymen from Tennessee into southwestern Virginia
and western North Carolina to disrupt the Confederate supply line by destroying sections of the Virginia and
Tennessee Railroad, the North Carolina Railroad, and the Piedmont Railroad. He struck at Boone on March 28, headed
into Virginia on April 2, and returned to North Carolina a week later. Stoneman’s Raid ended at Asheville on April 26,
the day that Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Union Gen. William T. Sherman near Durham.
240
26
40
25
74
You Are Here
Asheville
ed in pillaging there on April 26. A “Quaker war-rior,”
Palmer had joined the army as a way to
express his abolitionist views. He was later award-ed
the Medal of Honor for his role in defeating a
larger Confederate force at Red Hill, Alabama, on
January 14, 1865, “without losing a man.”
According to tradition, an “underground
railroad” operated here and ran through Hickory
Nut Gap. Local residents helped Union sympa-thizers,
slaves, and Federal soldiers escaping from
prisons in Columbia, South Carolina, and Salis-bury,
North Carolina, to travel to Union-controlled
Tennessee.
Gen. William J. Palmer
Courtesy Colorado Springs
Pioneers Museum
Our March today was through the grandest scenery we have looked on during our term of
service. We went up through the Hickory Nut Gap in the mountains, along the Broad River,
up to its source. Towering above us, almost to the clouds, were the precipitous crags of the
Hickory Mountains, and at High Falls the water drops 300 feet from the summit. It was so
imposing that the usual chat of the riders was hushed, as they gazed with awe on the
sight. As we rode along we plucked the fragrant Magnolia from the forest trees, and the
wish of all was to stay longer with it, but that could not be done, and we went on up to the
top, where plenty of forage was found. — Capt. Harry Weand, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry
Mural by Elizabeth Cramer McClure shows Stoneman’s raiders in Hickory
Nut Gap. Photography by Ken Abbot